Published: March 30, 2007

The Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, lashed out against American plans to increase use of renewable fuels, mainly ethanol, in a front-page article in the Communist Party newspaper, Granma, warning that food stocks for millions of people would be threatened. The article, titled ''Condemned to Premature Death by Hunger and Thirst -- More Than 3 Billion People of the World,'' said that if the United States and other wealthy nations decided to import huge amounts of traditional crops like corn from poorer countries to help meet their energy needs, ''you will see how many people among the hungry masses of our planet will no longer consume corn.'' ''Or even worse,'' it continued, ''by offering financing to poor countries to produce ethanol from corn or any other kind of food, no tree will be left to defend humanity from climate change.'' They were his first comments on international issues since Mr. Castro took ill last July. In recent weeks, several senior Cuban officials have indicated that he might soon take a more active role and even return to the presidency.